U of M Grads... ?

I despise M Fans who did not attend the University and fully support euthanasia for such scum. Unless they went to Miami, in which case they are ok.

As an alum, my view of non-grad fans is that the more the merrier. The only concern that I have about non-grads (and it can apply to grads as well) is that they are more likely to be bandwagon types. Case in point, I was in undergrad for the 1990-1993 seasons. I suffered the ridiculous losses to ND, MSU and Iowa in 1990 and the lows that came with. I was there for the Rose Bowl teams of 1991 and 1992 and Desmond's Heisman and the Catch. I was also there for the debacle of 1993 (the ND drubbing and the blown game against Illinois). So I have a sense of perspective. I'm not going to be an argogant ass when we have a great year, because I've been through the crappy years. I have a sense (with no data to back it up) that the band wagon fans are more likely to be asses during seasons like 2006 and leave the core fans exposed to the backlash during years like 2007. Alums can be these same bandwagon a-holes as non-alums. If you are a true fan that is there for the ups and downs and has a sense for the tradition and history of the program, its not critical that you were an alum. Being an alum only makes it more likely that you have a sense of this perspective and history because there were at least four years you were involved.

I think what makes a school like Michigan so great is that it has this legion of fans who adore the school and its athletics, but who have no tangible connection to the university itself. They could have picked any other school in the country but they chose Michigan. That there is something about Michigan that draws these fans to the school is a testament to the university. People who went to Michigan had little choice but to be Michigan fans, whereas those who attended school somewhere else (or did not attend college at all) CHOSE Michigan above all others. It's a compliment, as far as I'm concerned.

The more the merrier; it speaks volumes about the allure of Michigan's storied athletic history. Any non-grad Northwestern fans out there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus, I've found that (at least among the ranks of M fans my age (M sophomore)) those who do not attend U-M are the most rabid fans - following recruiting closely and having a grasp on the Michigan football tradition.

I think you'll find just as many fans of MSU basketball that didn't go to MSU as you will find UM football fans who aren't alums. MSU's basketball team has been on an incredible run of success in the last 10 years so they've picked up a whole lot of fans. I'm not an alum, but I've been going to the games since I was 6, so I think I've paid my dues. You just can't go around telling Spartans that their academics are wack...that's not really fair if you're not an alum.

I'm always welcome of non-grad fans, but remember non-grad fans only see the school to the extent of the football field and basketball court. As a graduate of Umich, I have a strong interest in seeing Umich stay a top 25 university, through donations, working with alumni groups, and representing the University in my work and my life. As I always say, one more Michigan fan is one less Buckeye fan.

There's an entirely separate organization for those UM alumni who feel the need to rub elbows with others who stalked the halls of Angell, or whatever - it's called the Alumni Association. You can even get a membership card to prove your affiliation to other such elitists. Or I suppose you could really wow them by carrying around your battered old student ID (mine has the punches in it to register in pre-laser scanning devices - yes, I'm ancient). But anyone who recognizes the superiority of Michigan football should always be welcome, regardless of pedigree.

I am a non-alum fan. So, Dex, unless you were kidding, you and I are going to have problems, lol.

Considering I am sitting in the same seats since the late 1970s, I guess those "worries" about we non-alum fans being the bandwagoners do not apply in this case. I agree there are bandwagoners (as there are in every single sport), but I dont think it matters if you're an alum or not. Bandwagoners are part of every demographic. Living here in Ohio, I can tell you one school's fan base is nothing but an overfilled bandwagon, but thats another story!

For me, cheering for all of UM's athletics is a family tradition, and I still tear up when I walk into the stadium thinking about the days when I attended games on my grandparents laps.

mjvancam: Good stuff in your post. It is all about weathering the ups and downs. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still see that cheating, rat scum bag Bob Crable jumping on top of the ND D-linemen to block a game winning field goal attempt in 1979. We lost 12-10. Talk about a ridiculous loss to ND!! So, my cure is to close my eyes again and visualize Wangler to Carter on the final play of the IU game just a few weeks later. Those were among my first games ever at the Big House, and it has been an addiction ever since!!!

As someone who grew up in the Ann Arbor area and then attended UM, one of my favorite part of any football Saturday remains the walk we used to take to get to the game. My dad and I would always walk in from the west of the stadium, passing down Pauline Blvd, cutting through Allemdinger Park, and entering through the gate on the Northwest corner at Main and Keech.

I love the way that neighborhood comes out for football. It's kids with lemonade stands and cars parked on lawns. It's grilling and footballs being thrown in the street. It's like the pre-game parties at Beta and volleyballfrat, or up and down Arch St., but completely different, because people from pre-school to retirement all join in. I can't think that everyone out in that neighborhood went to UM, but the way they came out to support not just the team, but the special type of day that's UM football, was always great to see.

i'm not gonna lie, i find it weird when people are attached to a school (or it football program) they didnt go to unless they have some other obvious tie to the school (work there or whatever) i mean, i grew up a michigan fan, but i almost went to usc. if i had, i'd be a usc fan. i wouldnt have walked around LA in an M hat. my sense of fandom (is that a word) changed the day i enrolled. the more the merrier obviously, but i guess a little of that typical michigan arrogance (and possessiveness) sneaks in every now and then. sorry

and she still wants U-M to do well, especially in football. I think it's because cfaller gets a little hostile/drunk/abusive to the pets when Michigan blows another fucking lead in the 4th quarter or the offense turtles again after getting a 10 point lead even though it's only the 2nd quarter or when the kicker misses another field goal or...

Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, it's ok for non-U-M grads to cheer for U-M, because it's possible to have a personal stake in U-M (e.g. not having your husband go insane) even when it's not your alma mater.

I am a current doctoral student at UofM. I did not do my undergraduate here, but I have been a UofM football fan my entire life. A fan is a fan. If you know how to yell something other than "Down in front" then I hope you can get tickets to the games too! :o)

My wife is a Sparty, and we had this argument a while ago after some Drew Stanton comments. She has no issues with non-alum fans, but what drives her crazy is the non-alums who bring up the academics of the schools to put down State fans. Like her dumb as a brick cousin who pulls out all of the stupid jokes even though she has earned her doctorate at MSU. So root for whoever you want, but skip the academics if you didn't get in either.

I certainly don't have a problem with non-alum Michigan fans, and Cougar Blue certainly has a legit connection to the program.

 Hell, I have several degrees from UM and lived in AA for over a decade, and the only connection I have with the program is I met the center from the late 70's at the Phila. Airport who told me the damnedest story. Seems that he, along with Rick Leach and others, decided to drive a van to Atlantic City when gambling first started up.   While driving at night, he noticed that several cars were swerving behind him and when they passed the van the car's occupants gave him a real dirty look. He looked back, and in the rear of the van he saw the back doors open, and Leach bending over with his pants down - he was taking a dump on the Atlantic City Expressway. Don't know if its true, but it is funny.

Anyway, back on topic, I have found the non-alum Notre Dame fans (fortunately now a dying breed now that ND has been returning to glory for what, 15 or so years now) to be absolutely the most obnoxious. Many of these fans have never stepped foot in Indiana, let alone ND's campus. I have found they are the most graceless winners.

I know what you guys are saying about not rubbing it in to other schools who have 'inferior' academics. I'm not like that anyway, but from my point of view, it wasn't just that makes me a Michigan fan. Even though I didn't attend U of M, I'm proud of the fact that Michigan isn't just a professional sport factory as portrayed in 'The Program.' I saw a Michigan bowl game on TV when I was 5, loved the uniforms and the colors, and they just stuck. I've been following them ever since, obviously more closely as the years went by, but I've been a fan for 19 years and counting. My main point is just that the academics, as well as the athletics, are what make me proud to be a Michigan fan. As for why I didn't attend U of M; two things: 1) They didn't have my intended major, and 2) It was just way too expensive for out-of-state tuition. I went to a small Tech school and am doing what I wanted to do, so, I have no other ties. Anyway, enough of this book. Go Blue!

I graduated from UM's RC in '91. (BTW: I'm pretty sure Dhani Jones is first and only UM football player to attend the RC.) I always liked Michigan football before and during college, but I REALLY started to like them when I lived a block away from the stadium for seven years. Those fall Saturdays parking cars in my yard really freakin hooked me.

Honestly, most of the alumni fans sit in silence and despise the notion of enthusiasm when watching football and it makes me sick. I just finished my last undergraduate class at UM last Friday, and just want the bleachers to be filled with excited fans. At the same time, with the academics scenario I agree with the field. If you didn't get in, don't bash people who went to other universities for their academics. I really wanna just hear some loud and rowdy fans, but am disgusted when people who didn't go to the school are belligerent a-holes on message boards and insult other schools (rather than football teams). This is partially why so many people think UM fans are so elitist.

heck, i'm a wolverine fan because i attended northside elementary school!!!! (does that count?) lived in ann arbor for 5 years and gone abroad ever since. and yet, here i am 20 years later in sydney still following um games through the internet, sittin' in front of the computer, reading this blog, reading what dex has to say, and caring to even write a reply to this topic. i just bleed maize n blue man. period.

#1 - No, I don't think non-alums should be killed. Just in case someone is confused. #2 - I'm going to take this academic thing a step further. Even if you are a grad of UM, you aren't allowed to bring up academics when smack talking a Sparty fan - because academics are not football. Honestly folks, UM is a great school and I am glad to have attended, but you can make your own college education as easy or as hard as you want. Don't fool yourself into thinking there aren't Sparty grads that worked harder and learned more than you did. Sitting in class in Angell didn't give us special mind powers that no one else can obtain. Also, I repeat, academics aren't football. Our football players are not smarter than any other schools football players.

What if UM was my safety school and I got into my first choice? Can I talk smack about academics then?

I hate assholes who say this at games. I was asked this during THE HORROR by some 19 year old dickweed in front of me because I was being negative pretty much the entire game, and rightly so. As an alum, I'm proud of the fact that my school is special enough for people 'who didn't even go there' to root for. To echo the sentiments above, the more the merrier. I'll take a rabid non-alum over C. Woodrow Hollingsworth JD '47 any day of the week. As for academics, you really shouldn't be talking smack to anyone if you're a Wal-Mart Wolverine working the line at some Chrysler plant. Talk all the smack you want about football, but leave academic rankings out of it. Yeah, I guess this last paragraph displayed some of that famous Michigan elitism I claim to despise.

I currently go to OSU. I was born in Michigan and have been a Michigan fan my entire life. My family moved to Ohio before I went to high school. I applied to Michigan and OSU, was accepted to both, but could not afford to go to Ann Arbor. OSU however will take whatever they can get and offered me a full ride. I still love Michigan and always buy the student tickets. The home games have been awful to sit through because I have to sit in the student section. I will always be a Michigan fan and I think that it is weird that someone would suggest that they have to go to the school in order to be a fan. Just take a look at one of the posts on this blog. I do not think I should change my fandom because of 4 years at OSU. Also Derek Jeter is a Michigan fan, but he did not go there. I am majoring in Computer Science at OSU and hope to go to Michgan for Grad School. I hope Rich Rod can beat Tressel before I graduate from here though.

It's always kind of odd to me how in one instance someone will trumpet the "biggest alum base" they heard during orientation as some sort of great accomplishment, and then later talk about how hard it is to get in or how tough the school is.

the wife did the school work and i did the wife so wheres that put me? Oh yeah, on my couch watching NASN and Sky Sports all day or playing online. So yes, until she dumps my lazy ass i will talk smack about academics : )

I actually believe, on average, the non-grad fans are more rabid supporters of the football team. I wish there were more of them in the stadium so it would be a bit louder on gameday! UM grads tend to be much more fair-weather than our non-grad comrades, as has been mentioned in other comments here. I totally agree: the more the merrier!! However, I also think grad fans have a greater loyalty to UM as an entire institution vs. the non-grad fans who are loyal to UM ATHLETICS. Example: After the year of infinite pain, I was strongly in the camp of Lloyd Carr supporters. At the time, I volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis and met a person who worked for Indiana U's football coaching staff. I mentioned to this person that I was a UM alum and disappointed with UM's record against tOSU the past few years. Very long story short, the guy said Coach Hep was doing everything he could to emulate UM's program at IU. He said that Lloyd was the ONLY coach in the Big Ten who valued winning AND developing his players through discipline and education AND followed all the NCAA rules. I wasn't surprised to hear about the shortcomings of the buckeye program, but I was very surprised to find out he had a lot of negative things to say about JoePa's behavior, too. I was never more proud to be a UM alum than on that day. Bottom line, I think the non-grad fans at that point would be more likely to say: "I don't care that more of his kids go to class, they went 7-5! Time to retire!" Whereas, more of the grads would be more likely to say: "I'll put up with one bad year if I know he will continue to represent our school so well."

First, what drives my MSU buddies crazy is, and I quote, "Those toothless UM zombies [non-Grads] who buy their UM t-shirt at Walmart and then talk smack about the inferiority of MSU as an educational institution." I get that. But as far as supporting a college's athletics teams is concerned, every college has its share of non-Grad fans -- UM probably more due to the relative success and profile of the football team. And all colleges should be glad they do, otherwise their athletic department budgets would be a fraction of what they are. When mgoblue re-launched its website last year, its first-ever poll question was "How did you become a Michigan fan?" The 12,685 responses broke down as follows: Born into it 48.9% Saw a game live 6.3% Saw a game on TV 8.3% Michigan is my alma mater 24% Of course, the results are unscientific and the "born into it" option can mean anything from "my parents went there" to "my dad was a toothless Walmart UM t-shirt wearing zombie". But I'm willing to bet that, as a general rule, one-quarter alum percentage of fan base is probably not that far off, especially for high-profile schools like Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC and the like. And even if the Grad fan base is a higher percentage at other schools, let's say DOUBLE, that's still no more than 50%. Even if Grads don't love you, the ADs do. And most Grads are smart enough to welcome fans who represent 50%-75% of the customer base (although Grads are much, much more likely to make donations so would be over-represented in total revenue contribution.) All is to say, it's nobody's "right" -- UM grad or grad of another -- to deny you the right and pleasure to cheer the Wolverines (or anyone else). But, talking smack about, say, MSU, as an institution of higher learning when you yourself may have attended the Kalamazoo School of Beauty and Hair Design displays an incredible lack of self-awareness and is highly ironic (in the real way, not the Alanis Morrisette way). Go Blue!

tubauberalles - you have punches on your old MCard? I was on campus when they introduced the ID policy for student tickets (I'm in the class of 2003), but I don't remember them ever having to punch anything. They just looked at your MCard and let you through.

As for the original question, hey, people can root for whomever they want. I think it's great that we have a large fanbase.  I want Michigan to be popular. More popularity/exposure is a good thing.

Big gay heart - I believe UM actually has the largest number of total alumni of any school in the country. I'm pretty sure I've heard that statistic before. That's because almost everyone who enrolls here actually goes on to graduate. OSU, MSU and others have more students, but also a much worse graduation rate.

unless you palyed on the team. And by played, I mean started.  Everyone else must root for EMU.